Why 'Uncharted 2: Among Thieves' is the best PS3 game

We recently revealed our top 20 games of this console generation (in two installments - part one and part two), and now Mark Langshaw discusses why Digital Spy has named Uncharted 2: Among Thieves as the best PS3 exclusive.

Naughty Dog's Uncharted series defines the PlayStation 3 like no other franchise, pushing the system's graphical capabilities and spearheading gaming's push into new cinematic territory.

Nathan Drake's second outing, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, is far from the most innovative game to arrive during the current generation, but as soon as I played it I knew the third-person action-adventure had been perfected.

Naughty Dog played it safe with this sequel, retaining the adrenaline-soaked gunplay, large-scale set pieces and engaging storyline of its predecessor, and carefully inserting one of the best multiplayer experiences the PS3 has to offer into the mix.

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves wears its influences firmly on its sleeve, owing as much to Raiders of the Lost Arc as it does to the great third-person action titles of generations gone by.

The developers successfully harnessed the roller coaster thrills from Indiana Jones's greatest adventure and served them up on a platter with some of the most polished gameplay mechanics the genre has ever seen.

It's the Tomb Raider formula perfected, with technology now having reached a point where it is possible to deliver a 3D adventure with fast, fluid controls and action segments worthy of the big screen.

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is packed full of unforgettable moments. Desperately clambering up the side of a derailed train that is hanging over the side of a Tibetan mountain has to rank as one of the greatest tutorial stages I've encountered.

I was also left breathless by that scene involving an enemy chopper and the tallest building in Nepal, as well as the intense showdown with the tank in that snow-covered village, not to mention the grand finale where Drake must flee from the crumbling city.

The game offers one heart-racing experience after the next, coupled with blockbuster production values and sheer playability.

Fleshed-out characters, a sharp script and an expert performance from lead voice actor Nolan North also did their part to make Uncharted 2: Among Thieves a masterpiece.

While the solo campaign offers thrills by the barrelful, even after several playthroughs, it was the online multiplayer modes that kept me coming back time and time again.

Successfully pulling one of your friends off a cliff during a Deathmatch is almost as satisfying as the first time you experience that epic train segment in the core game; and the co-op mode that pits three companions against waves of enemies is one of the most addictive of its kind.

Naughty Dog succeeded in translating the energetic firefights that made the original Uncharted an instant classic into a well-rounded online multiplayer component in the sequel, and the result is a more complete package than its predecessor with added longevity.

The game's follow-up, Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception, is another thrill ride that saw Naughty Dog continue to stick to its guns. It's arguably slicker, but superior pacing and set pieces make Uncharted 2: Among Thieves the pinnacle of the series.

The quality jump between the original Uncharted and its immediate sequel is vastly bigger than the gulf between the second and third installments. It felt like more of the same, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but some of the novelty had worn off three games in.

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is a definitive PS3 exclusive that showed the world what the console is capable of, and helped establish performance capture as the must-have for any triple-A release.

Those near-perfect aggregated review scores the game attracted at launch suggests that the third-person shooter doesn't get much better than this, but if anyone can take it to new heights during the next hardware generation, it's Naughty Dog.

Join us tomorrow (November 9) as we reveal our best Xbox 360 exclusive, and on Sunday, November 10, our best overall game of the generation.